Programs in
Assistive Technology Education
for End-Users in Europe

Name of the organisation
    PAPA BOUSCAT
    Centre d'Evaluation de Conseil et de Recherche pour l'Autonomie
Address
    Hôpital Suburbain
    97, av. Georges Clémenceau
    33491 Le Bouscat
    FRANCE
    Telephone: +33 5 56028116
    Fax: +33 5 57220051
Key Person of the organisation
    Myriam Le Sonner Pere, President

Both a user organisation (the elderly) and a provider of health or social services, mainly involved in: information/advice for end-users, training/education and public awareness raising. Educational activities (begun 5-10 years ago) are addressed to different targets: the elderly, families, helpers or personal assistants, professionals; independent living and coping better with disability are dealt with, and AT is considered.

The educational activities carried out over the past 5 years can be classified as follows:

  • 62 training courses, both residential and non-residential, addressed to a target of adults: rehabilitation professionals, personal assistants, technologists and administrative officers;
  • 15 seminars, in the form of monographic seminars and topical workshops, addressed to a target of adults as described above;
  • 36 information activities, comprising all the option represented (conferences, round tables, mass media coverage, periodicals, exhibitions, exchange of experiences); these are addressed to adult and the elderly participants and to the following target: the elderly, rehabilitation and educational professionals, personal assistants, technologists and administrative officers;
  • 526 activities addressed to the individual, in the form of advice and information services, addressed to adult and the elderly participants and to the elderly, and rehabilitation and educational professionals.

The role played by AT in these initiatives is defined as important for the activities addressed to the individual and the training courses, very important for the information activities and relevant for the seminars. Different areas related to AT are considered according to the type of initiative.

Many areas related to AT are considered within these activities, and these vary according to the typology. Nevertheless in the training courses and seminars the prevalent AT-related areas are health maintenance, general accessibility issues, vision and hearing.

TRAINING COURSES AND SEMINARS

As the table below demonstrates, this organisation has conducted intense educational activity over the years covering a wide range of topics but with a prevailing interest in the elderly. A general description has been given for all the organisation's educational activities.
Title of the initiative
Typology
Year
Duration

(in hrs.)
Number partic.
Target
Number teachers
Le medicin, la personne âgée dépendante

(The doctor & the dependent elderly person)

n/r train. c.
1993
24
40
rehab. prof.
6
Aides techniques et maladie de Parkinson

(AT and Parkinson's disease)

n/r train. c.
1996
2
20
elderly
1
Ergothérapie et réinsertion

(Occupational therapy and re-inclusion)

n/r train. c.
1992
39
12
rehab. prof.
2
Les chutes chez les personnes âgées

(Falls and the elderly)

top. work.
1996
8
15
rehab. prof.
2
Difficultés de communication et troubles auditifs

(Communication difficulties and auditory impairment)

top. work.
1994
16
12
rehab. prof., elderly, pers. ass.
2
Savoir faire, savoir être auprès personnes âgées

(Savoir faire, savoir être with the elderly)

top. work.
1995
39
12
rehab. prof.
6
Aider un parent âgé

(Helping an elderly parent)

top. work.
1996
12
12
families
2
Aides techniques et personnes âgées

(AT and the elderly)

other
1995
8
 elderly, families, rehab. prof.
1

Selection

The organisation's initiatives were publicised through leaflets, which proved to be the most effective medium, and through advertisements in category journals. Leaflets were distributed to a special address database as well as to user organisations, and were handed out at congresses and exhibitions.

While the criteria adopted for choosing participants concerned territoriality and professional experience, those for choosing teachers were membership of the organisation itself and the level of expertise; no preference expressed for teachers with disabilities.

Organisation

The initiatives took place in different places, defined as need arose, and were chosen above all on the basis of overall accessibility; organisation also included personal assistance when needed, assistance with travel reservation and accommodation of participants, coffee and lunch-breaks on site, welcome and farewell sessions. Participants paid a fee to enrol in these seminars and training courses, but the amount charged is not given.

Co-ordination between teachers was ensured both by a co-ordinator and preparatory meetings.

Implementation

The sole method used to deliver contents in these seminars and training courses was group discussion, with a stress on interactivity, and the educational aids used were overhead projection and handouts for the participants; the hands-on sessions took the form of presentation and demonstration of products. Information on participants was collected both through a presentation form with the enrolment form and self-presentation during the opening day; this information is highly valued, since it is used to readjust the initiative's contents and methods on the basis of the target, but also to redefine its objectives. Similarly, feedback from participants was collected through a final questionnaire and open final group discussion: the information gained in this way is used to readjust the initiative's contents and methods, and to redefine the objectives of the organisation's educational activity. Follow-up is done through direct contact.

Further remarks

The answers to the last questions reveal that over the years the organisation has changed some aspects of its educational activities, moving from prevailingly individual education to training addressed to professional groups, and in addition has sought to deliver more clearly targeted contents on the basis of the special professional group addressed.